Li Shan Fang
Li Shan Fang, aka Sean Fang, is Centria's Gym Leader, the CEO of SOLARUS Inc., and the Dragon Head of Team Chandra. He uses a wide variety of Pokémon, and gives the Solar Badge to trainers who defeat him. Backstory Li Shan Fang may not look it, but he was once one of the best and brightest pupils of the Shenlong Monastery. He arrived there as a teenager with his Deino seeking respite from bullies in town and in school. Begrudgingly taken in by the Monastery's ageless master, he was quickly subjected to the grueling and often merciless routines of training practiced by the monks. It was not training he endured without enthusiasm, however. The mere idea of not being powerless enthralled him. His Deino also evolved into Zweilous during this time. Eventually, Fang grew into one of the master's star pupils, often receiving personal tutelage for very deadly techniques not often entrusted to other students. But in the process, he started to exert his superior status over other students, often reacting violently and unleashing his Zweilous against those that dared to cross him. Fang had started to turn into the bullies he had so despised, and he knew it well. One stormy night, Fang openly challenged the Monastery's then-master, Quon Kadena, for the right to run the monastery. It was a two-on-two battle, between the Master and Fang, and their Pokémon of choice. Fang used his Zweilous, but the master chose the weakest Pokémon in his lineup. To Fang's surprise the fight lasted until dawn, but in the end the master utterly defeated Fang and Zweilous. The master offered a small reprimand and forgiveness, explaining that even the weakest Pokémon could take down a strong Pokémon that used its power recklessly. But refusing to accept that an old man would continue to wield such power without flaunting it, Fang was exiled from the monastery that day and disappeared, supposedly never to be seen again. This story, nowadays, is known only to Fang and those at the Monastery who still remember, such as current Shenlong Monastery gym leader Yi Jing. To everyone else, from the general public to his own men, he might as well have dropped out of the sky. The rise of SOLARUS Some years later, a new corporate entity began to arise from within Tatsu, acquiring everything in its path. Its name was SOLARUS Inc., a multi-faceted corporate conglomerate akin to GE, and it quickly became a power player on the same level or greater as that of the Kanto-based Silph Co. Li Shan Fang, under the name of Sean Fang, was (and still is) its CEO, and it's obvious he had invested much of his time and money into the company's public image. A substantial portion of the company's efforts are invested in charity and even anti-crime work, sponsoring the police department of Centria. He has even been able to effectively disassociate SOLARUS from its twin enterprise, the villainous Team Chandra, by publically denouncing Team Chandra's actions and even calling the cops on some of his own men when they no longer served useful to him. However, although the public remains largely ignorant of the implications of the growth of Fang's empire, it is now becoming increasingly clear, particularly to his former Monastery classmates as well as the people he deals with, that he intends to rule the region. Indeed, Fang's company is spreading across the region like wildfire, making business deals and assimilating smaller companies. It seems there is no stopping Fang's rise to the top. Centria Gym In recent years, Fang had the Centria Gym built as a SOLARUS project. With a little string-pulling he was able to not only get it accredited by the Pokémon League as the first multi-type gym of its kind, but also make it a requirement that anyone wanting to enter the yearly Pokémon League now has to go through him - in order to test trainers that could be a challenge to his ambitions. When a trainer is found to have earned seven badges (through the records of challengers obtained from Tatsu's gyms), they are sent an invitation by SOLARUS to come to the Centria Gym. The gym itself was built on the top floor of SOLARUS' headquarters in the middle of a park in downtown Centria. When entering the property, there is a traditional Chinese-style gate leading into a small park inhabited by Paras, Magikarp and a few Growlithe. The massive 100-floor skyscraper is in the middle, and visitors must give the guard proof of their invitation (or their business card, if they work there) to get in. Challengers ride an elevator to certain floors in the office building, where they will do battle with randomly chosen employees and their unpredictable Pokémon lineups. Finally, they are taken to the top floor and led into Fang's spacious public office; an oriental carpet, several trophies and diplomas, tapestries with depictions of the revered Pokémon of Tatsu, Fang's desk and a long window looking into the city are in here. This is of course a front shown only to Fang's challengers; the contents of his true office are a secret. Fang will not say much to his challengers, he will give only a brief few words as he silently judges his opponents' worth. His team is very difficult to beat, but he uses as much restraint as he can. When his team is defeated, he will give them the Solar Badge and bid them back out of the building. There are many trainers who have fought Fang, but Fang's meticulously calculated display ensures that they don't have much to say about him. This mysterious persona of 'Sean Fang' has become rather infamous. Personality Li Shan Fang is brilliant, cunning, and above all arrogant. It certainly shows in his dress and demeanor, as he is always found impeccably dressed in the finest tailored business suits. He likes to lure in potential clients (and victims alike) with etiquette and hospitality befitting of a prominent businessman before trapping them in an offer they can't refuse like the Mafia Dons of old. By the time his clients and victims realize what they've gotten into, it's almost always too late. The only thing that matters to him is power, and he is not above wielding all of Solarus' influence to coerce and deceive in his quest to acquire more of it. As such, he works from the shadows when not personally dealing with clients, ordering Solarus' PR department to constantly work and rework the company's image wherever he sees it will benefit him the most. Whatever the PR department inevitably does not cover, he will personally step in to take care of with extreme prejudice; those in his inner circle know how terrifying he can get. It is often that he will direct Team Chandra to 'fix a problem' when he feels the need. When not facing challengers or talking to clients, he prefers to be alone; he does not make any public appearances and only directs the PR department to issue statements according to his whims. It's probable that he has some form of undiagnosed sociopathy. Other than that, his inner thoughts, feelings and attitudes remain quite mysterious. Appearance He appears Chinese, with slick black hair and a trimmed goatee. He has sharp, piercing brown eyes capable of inducing any desired effect on their target. He is quite tall, and is never seen in anything other than a crisp black business suit with a red tie. He wears the sun-like O in the SOLARUS logo on his lapel. Pokémon Li Shan Fang is known to possess a great variety of Pokémon; however, he usually uses his Advanced team to face challengers, which is his personal team of highly powerful Pokémon. Fang will go easy on opponents to give them a fair chance of winning, but inside he is silently judging his opponents to determine what threat they could pose. Make no mistake, Fang is making a list. His Advanced team is as follows: Hydreigon: Fang's Hydreigon is the first Pokémon he ever owned, which he usually saves for last. Little has changed over the years; Hydreigon is still a very powerful and ruthless opponent. While Li Shan Fang has not been known to show any attachment to his Pokémon and appears to use them only for battling purposes, Hydreigon might be the sole exception thanks to their history together, but this is pure speculation. Arcanine: Fang keeps Arcanine around due to it being one of the sacred Pokémon of Tatsu. It's something of his lap dog, though of course it's too big to actually go on his lap. It has a strong Fire Spin attack. Gyarados: Another one of the sacred Pokémon that Fang keeps by his side. It catches opponents off guard with Ice and Fire attacks. Electivire: Fang's Electivire was chosen for unknown reasons, but he usually puts it out in front. its Motor Drive-boosted Thunder Punches have been known to end some of Fang's battles swiftly. Alakazam: Fang usually saves his Alakazam for tough situations, when its psychic powers will come in handy. Terms of Use As a Gym Leader and an NPC character, he can be used freely; however, because of his important role, it is important to follow his character as closely as possible, unless of course it's something that's meant to be silly and out of character. Category:NPC characters Category:Gym leaders Category:SOLARUS